Journeys of the Land
by Tweety-rocker
Summary: A baby girl is separated from her parents in an immortal attack. She is found at a village and a man and a woman name her Makatula and raise her like their own. Maka is happy for 13 years, and everything is fine. Until now...Please R&R I'll have more soon
1. Sights of the Future

Disclaimer: All I own are the new characters and places.

"Maka. Maka, wake up. Hurry, we will be in danger soon!" Her foster mother gently shook her awake.

"Wha-" she asked sleepily.

"Get up. Hurry. Go to the Watchmen's main tower and tell whoever is there to sound the alarm. Run!"

"What time is it?"

"Six. Go."

"But-"

"Go!"

Maka went, slowly at first, but quickly coming to a light jog.

From the Watchman's point of view, he could see nothing but a strawberry-blonde head coming towards him.

"Hello! Watchman, let down the ladder!" called Maka. No response.

"In the name of the Weaponsmiths, let down the ladder!" she called again, this time announcing her family name. Everyone's last name was based on his or her job in the village.

The ladder came down, and the Watchman secured it. "All safe!" he called.

Maka quickly scrambled up the ladder. "Sound the alarm! Hurry! We will be at risk soon!"

"Says who?"

"Says Futureseeker, our guest in our home. Now do it, quick."

"Oh, all right." grumbled the Watchman.

He went over to the other side of the tower's one room. On this side was a cone-shaped piece of metal and a small bell. The Watchman picked up the bell and rang it right near the small opening of the cone. The cone must have been magicked to amplify sound, because the bell's rings carried all over the entire village.

Within a matter of minutes, the entire village and the Village Head had gathered at the square.

"Maka has an important announcement to make," said the Head.

She stood to face the crowd.

"People of the village of Kathlun, heed my voice! The gods have sent the Futureseeker a message. We are all in great danger."


	2. The Immortal Attack

Disclaimer: All I own are the characters and new places.

"There will be an attack on this village today!" shouted Maka. "Arm yourselves an be prepared for an attack!"

Futureseeker came hobbling out to the front of the platform that Maka was standing on. The older woman motioned to the girl, asking Maka to help her on to the platform.

"The immortals, they are coming! We shall fight long and hard! The little one is right. Arm yourselves and man the battle towers! Don't delay!"

"What about the children?" asked a frantic mother.

"Keep them in your houses and lock the doors. Hurry now, for we only have an hour before the arrival of the immortals!"

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Far to the south end of the village, over by the farms, the watchmen noticed movement. Looking in their spyglasses, they gave the signal for "friends".

Maka was still on the platform, instructing villagers where to go and what to do, along with the help of one of the senior Watchmen. She was about to send off a small group to defend the back gate when she heard the signal.

"Go see who it is." instructed the Watchman. "You do not have the authority to instruct troops without the help of a Watchman, anyway.

Maka ran to the lookout tower, the only one that had a permanent ladder. She entered the small room and picked up the old spyglass that was in there. Looking to the south, she saw a troop of men. Some were dressed in the King's Own and others wearing burnooses in the style of the Bazhir. These men were led by Sir Raoul of the King's Own and Sir Alanna. Maka's heart leapt. Ever since she had opened a book that contained pictures and documentaries about the history of Tortall, she had always wanted to meet the extraordinary people who were a part of it. When she had asked Futureseeker if she would ever get to meet them, the old woman had replied, "If your heart is true and strong, then, after many dangers and perils, your dream shall come true."

Turning to the east, she saw a horrifying sight. Hundreds of thousands of immortals were marching toward their village.

"Ho! Villagers! Defend the east wall! The immortals are advancing!" Maka yelled to all that could hear. The nearby Watchmen carried the order until it had circulated around to everyone in the village's army and defense system.

Within a matter of minutes, the village army had assembled at the east gates. Defenders, mixed with armed villagers, stood along the outside of and on the wall.

Most people weren't afraid of the "attack". They thought that Futureseeker was a batty old woman with serious mental issues. Their minds would only be changed by one thing. Everyone knew it was for real when they heard the horns sounding the attack and the terrifying shriek of the immortals.

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Years later, Maka wouldn't remember the fight clearly. She had seen a million things going on at once. There were villagers and army men dying, immortals falling and crushing village buildings, and (gods curse it!) a human man leading away prisoners in chains. Of it all, the only thing that was clear to Maka was what the evil man (may he never have peace in the Dark god's realm!) was doing to her parents.

"Maka! Maka! Help us, please!" shouted her mother. Maka ran towards the prisoners, to be kicked viciously to the ground. Recoiling in pain, she looked at her attacker.

"You- you foul, evil, inconsiderate, worthless, moronic piece of dust!"

"Oh, are we feeling a little bit, shall we say, rebellious?" sneered the man. "I have news for you, little girl. You'll be joining your parents and the others very soon." He came up to her with shackles and chains. He obviously thought that she was just a normal 13 year old. (***Boy, is he going to get it! ***)

As he reached for Maka, a blue-white streak of light jumped from her to him. He instantly recoiled and dropped the shackles.

"What the-"

Maka stared at her hands, looking like there was some sort of slimy creature dangling on it. Returning her sight to her enemy, she gave him a good kick in a place that she knew would hurt.

"Think about that next time" she said with a ferocious edge in her voice.

"You think you're so smart, little girl. Well, you may have won this time, but you might want to savor your life for a while. You won't exist when I'm through with you."

Suddenly, a winged immortal shaped like a horse with a few modifications swept down from the clouds. Maka immediately identified it as a hurrok. The creature landed and allowed the man to climb onto it back, with some difficulty because of the kick. As the hurrok flew screeching into the air, the man yelled, "You haven't heard the last of me yet! I'll be back, or I'm not the Slayer!"

Maka stared at the retreating figure until it was a black dot in the sky before coming to her senses. A few thoughts were buzzing in her head. The village was attacked. People were imprisoned. She had magic. And, gods blast it! The prisoners were gone!


	3. Fight and Flight

Disclaimer: All I own are the new characters and places, blah, blah, blah. I think you get the picture. Lol. J 

For a few minutes after the Slayer had flown away, Maka was paralyzed with fear and hatred. He had taken her parents, her friends, and almost everyone else in the village, including some Watchmen.

Looking around, she saw Ikrov on the ground, wounded. Maka rushed over to him, tearing at her tunic for a bandage.

"Don't! I'm already making the journey to the realm of the Black God. There is nothing anyone can do for me now. Save yourself!" Ikrov gasped, pulling a final breath into his dying lungs. Then he was still.

Maka was shaking furiously. "When I get my hands on that no-good, lousy, slime-like Slayer, I'll gut him and bring him to justice in the Court of Mithros!"

"Maka! Come here, child." It was Futureseeker. When Maka arrived, the old woman grabbed her wrist in an impossibly powerful grip.

"Maka, you must leave now! Soon, the man who has figured out how to control the immortals will arrive to resurrect his army. You are not safe!"

Futureseeker kept her hold on Maka until the very last. Soon, her shallow pulse stopped, the rise and fall of her chest ceased, and her wise words were no more. But something was there. Perhaps, when Maka had unleashed her magical rage on the Slayer (slug!), she had uncovered a sixth sense. It was either that, or the rather obvious white glow around the woman's corpse.

Scared, Maka backed away. The light grew steadily brighter and started to come from all over Futureseeker, not just her outline. Suddenly, a beautiful young woman with full red lips, emerald-like eyes, and long black hair rose from the body.

"You- you're-" Maka stumbled over her words in shock.

"Yes, I am" said the woman. "You must leave and never return here again. Take a staff, for protection. Good luck, my daughter." said the Great Mother Goddess

"But-"

"No 'buts'. At a time like this, it is advised to listen to a goddess, and ask questions later. Go."

"Yes, my Mother" Maka answered respectfully.

The Goddess slowly began to fade, until she had disappeared entirely.

~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~

In her next door neighbor's house, she found staffs. Maka thanked the gods that she knew the Woodworkers. Going to the staff rack, she went for the longest staff first. No sooner had her hands touched the staff than it crumbled under her touch. This was very strange, as the Woodworkers were the best in their class. Frowning, she picked up the second longest one. It, too, crumbled beneath her touch. The same happened for every staff until she had reached the last one. It was only a foot long and looked very pathetic indeed. However, when Maka touched it, the staff held. It felt warm to her skin and seemed to want to become a part of her. Before she had time to ponder the mysterious staff any more than she had, a deafening crash from outside shattered her thoughts.

Rushing outside, she found a dead immortal, an ogre, and a sweaty, but glorious, knight. The knight turned to face Maka.

"Hello. Are you Makatula?" asked the knight.

"Y- yes, I am. Why?"

The knight pulled off the helmet from his? head. It revealed shoulder-length red hair with violet eyes.

"I must tell you this. I am Sir Alanna of Trebond and Olau, Knight of the Realm of Tortall, a shaman and rider of the Bloody Hawk Tribe of the Bazhir. You are in danger, but I'm sure you already knew that" said Alanna with a small smile. "You must leave now, but first, you must know that you are-" she was interrupted by a cry of "Look out!" from Maka. Whirling, the knight was faced with an ogre, a huge, eight-foot-tall, aqua-skinned ogre. Alanna slashed at its legs, hoping to make it fall like the last one. The ogre roared with pain as the sword dug into its flesh.

"Run now! Hurry and escape! Take the northeast route to the capital! Go!"

Maka obeyed at a run. When she reached the North Gates, she looked back towards her home. With a sigh, she started down the road at a light trot, tears streaming silently down her face.


	4. Into the Mienta

Disclaimer: I own the characters, the… Wait, didn't I tell you this last chapter? Oh, yeah, now I remember! Also, please note that I own the entire plot/story line. Sorry, Issa, please don't kill me! From now on, the disclaimer will be SOS.

__

A beautiful white horse with a flowing white mane and tail was running out of the mist. Its thudding hooves brought pleasure and relief to Maka. The steady beat seemed to talk to her, comforting and reassuring her. All of a sudden, the horse began to change. It became black. It sprouted wings as its eyes moved forward on its head, like those of a predator. Screeching, the morphed hurrok took off in a spiral pattern. Above the ear-shattering shrieks, Maka could hear distinct laughter. The Slayer.

Maka awoke with a start. Breathing heavily, she took a swig from the waterskin at her feet. At first, she was disoriented. What time was it? Where was she? And, above all, why was she not safe at home in her bed? Then, she started remembering. After she had left the village, she had taken the road north out of the village, just like everyone had told her to. She had stopped in the early afternoon to rest. She supposed that she had gone to sleep, because here she was, sitting under a big old tree with here staff beside her. It was now late morning of the next day. Finally fully awake, she realized she was hungry. The only problem was that she had packed no food. Looking to her right, she realized where she was.

She was under no ordinary oak tree. And the forest next to it was no ordinary forest. It was none other than the Mienta Forest (***pronounced mee-EHN-tah***). The Mienta Forest was infamous for its host of both magical and mythical creatures. However, she also knew that there were delicious berries and other fruits in the forest. Her hunger getting the better of her sensible self, she trotted off into the forest.

Maka randomly chose a path and began to walk into the forest. For a little bit, he path was straight. Soon enough, though, it started winding, twisting, and forking. At such times, Maka would close her eyes and point to a fork, then headed down it. Each fork led her deeper into the forest. Nothing was really out of place here, except for strange hoof marks in the damp soil. Horses shouldn't be here, though Maka. Shivering from a chilly breeze that had swept through, she went on. At lest the Slayer hasn't been here, she thought. And then, it ended. Just as quickly as she had awoken after that strange dream, her path had ended. A huge wall made of piled boulders blocked her way.

As Maka surveyed the wall, a strange, overwhelming rush of energy flooded her entire body. She had a sudden urge to climb the wall, and climb it now. Without stopping to think, she started up. Several times, she fell down. The boulders were mossy and wet, and the small fungi didn't make it any better. The mud that she greeted each time she fell did not dampen her spirits. Eventually, after quite a few tries, she made it to the top.

During her climb, Maka had not noticed that the area above her was steadily growing lighter and lighter. Now, though, it was pretty hard to miss. She was very near the canopy of the forest and sunlight was streaming through. It illuminated a short path on the other side of the wall.

The boulders here seemed to be cut so that they made a steep ramp down to the forest floor. Growling about wall-ramp, and how it should have been a two-way incline, Maka headed down into the forest again. Her path was straight and short. It lasted for about five minutes before ending. This time, though, there was no obstacle. Her path put her into a very beautiful and natural clearing. In this clearing, there was a cool, clean, small lake. Nothing floated on top. Not even a lily pad could be found on the surface. The only things there were ripples from the occasional wind.

Maka wandered over to the edge of the lake. Flopping down beside the edge, she peered into the water. She half-expected to see fish, not the creatures that she saw.


End file.
